Bottle capping and sealing machine.



J. BRADLEY. BOTTLE GAPPING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED J'AN,11,1911.

Patented Dec. 8, 19M.

2 BHEETS-SHEET l.

/ 0/4 A); Inventor:

'v' Q); 2 mad/Q Z Atty J. BRADLEY.

BOTTLE CAPPING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLI('A'IION TILED JAN. 11. 1911.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

.2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' (2/4 Inventor:

by tty NITED srns FATE OFFICE.

JOSIAH BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 ALBERT WESTLAKE, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE CAPPING AND SEALING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

Application filed January 11. i911. Serial No. 601,938.

To all whom it ma concern Be it known tliat I, JOSIAH BRADLEY, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn borough, New York city,and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Bottle Capping and Sealing Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of my invention is to provide a strong and reliable bottlecapping and. sealing machine, by means of which a piece of capping.material may be rapidly and accurately pressed into and around the mouthof the bottle and so shaped and forced into intimate contact with thesame, as to provide a perfect air tight closure. It is more particularlyadapted and intended for use in bottling milk and other liquids which donot generate internal pressure; the seal be ing required to bethorou myhygienic and sanitary, but it is also a an eiiective seal, for chargedwater and other liquids, which generate internal pressure. Thisdifierence in the use of my improved machine, depends rather u on thematerial of which the cap is me e, than upon the mechanical constructionof the machine itself.

In capping milk bottles, as is well known, the cap is intended to beeasily removed, within twenty-four hours or so, of bottling, the milkmeanwhile being protected from leakage, from absorbing deleterious orother odors and from the entrance or any dirt or other substance whichmight impair the quality of the milk. Such caps are therefore, usuallyand preferably made of paper or other fibrous material. In cappingcharged waters, beer, ale. and other charged liquors, the caps areusually and preferably made of metal with or without an inner seal, ofother material, owing to the fact that the contents may have to remainundisturbed for a considerable length of time before using. The methodof applying the cap by my improved machine, however, is the same in bothcases and consists briefly in depressing the central portion areasonable distance into the mouth of the bottle, so as to make a snugfit on the in-- side of the bottle neck, and at-the'same time, turningthe outer portion of the material, down around the outside of the bottleneck, and tuckingthe edge in under the bottle neck ring. During thismovement,

apted to provide the plunger lingers, iron, so to speak, the

cap into intimate contact with the outside of the bottle neck, above,around and below the bottle neck ring, so that when the plunger iswith-drawn, the cap remains on the bottle as a perfectly air tight seal,capable of withstanding both internal and external pressure, by thecombined action of atmospheric suction and frictional contact.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown my invention in very simpleform, as applied to milk bottles, and for simplicity of illustration.have shown what is known as an individual bottling machine operated byfoot-power. It is to be understood, that steam, electricity, or anyother power may be used to operate my machine, and that by increasingthe number of plunger-s a corresponding number of bottles may be cappedsimultaneously.

Figure 1, is a side elevation partly in section of the machine. Fig. 2.,is an enlarged cross section of the plunger, engaging the top of thebottle. Fig. 3, is a bottom plan of the plunger by itself.

' The same letters indicate similar parts in the different figures.

A, is the frame work of the machine, consisting of the usual base Badapted to rest on or be fastened to the floor and provided with thehollow posts C throu h which the plunger rods D D slide under t e actionof the treadle E and the return spring F; (i, is the plunger headsecured to the top of the rods D D. All these parts being of usualconstruction, will, I think, be readily understood without furtherdescrip? tion.

I1, is a milk bottle resting on the stand or platform J in position tobe acted upon by the plunger. K in its descent. This plunger (see Figs.2 and 3) consists primarily, of a cylindrical body (1, preferably ofsteel, and a large number of fingers b b radially arranged around thelower end of said cylinder. The top of this hollow cylinder, ispreferably screw-threaded as at a, by which it is secured, to the stubor shank (Z which is secured in the plunger head-by a screw e. (See Fig.1).

Inside the hollow cylinder, slides the plunger tube, f, the inner end ofwhich is screw threaded to the freely sliding disk, g, set in thechamber h, inside the hollow cylinder (1. and somewhat larger in diamaceeter than the channel through which the plunger tube slides. The tube isprovided at one side, with a longitudinal slot j, into which enters theset screw is, through the body of the cylinder (1., and thus preventsthe tube from turning. The plunger tube, is normally held in itsextended position as shown in Fig. 2, by the coiled spring 2', and thelower end is shaped to correspond with the mouth of the bottle to besealed, due allowance being made for the material out of which the capor seal is formed and which has to be pressed into intimate contact withthe inside of the mouth of the bottle. The buffer ring m, of slightlyelastic material, is provided in the lower end of the plunger tube, toaid in pressing the seal, into intimate contact with the top of thebottle. The action of this part or the plunger, is as follows: The endor the plunger tube, is first brought down to rest squarely on the capwhich has been placed on the top of the bottle, and pressure is thenapplied by the descent of the plunger cylinder, at, which contracts thecoiled spring 2', in its descent. .Practically, the plunger cylindernever descends low enough to strike against the flange of the plungertube, but the resilient force of the spring a", constantly increasingwith its compression transfers the pressure of the stroke to thematerial of the bottle cap, and forces it into as close contact with thebottle, as its character will allow. During this downward stroke, thecoiled spring, a, which surrounds the plunger cylinder, is alsocompressed, with the result that when the plunger ceases to descen d thecylinder rises first and the tube follows; the spring 7, beingconsiderably heavier than the spring 2.

As before stated, the lower part of the cylinder, a, is surrounded by amultiplicity of fingers, b, h, radially arranged. -The purpose of thesefingers, is not only to tuck the outer edge of the capping or sealing,material, in under the bottle neck ring, but to press the material intointimate contact at all points'with the outside of the bottle. Theefiect reduced is a sort of ironing, especially it the capping materialhas been preheated, andtherefore, the action 9f these fingers, must beregular, accurate, and steady. To bring'this about, ll suspend thelingers at their upper ends on a pivotal ring 0, upwardly projectingfrom the flange of the cylinder a, so that they are free to swing in orout as occasion requires. To permit a limited in and out swmg and toprevent any lateral displacement, l surround this circle of fingers bytwo rings or hands, r, 'a. Each of these'rings has a number of inwardlyprojecting fins or thin plates 79, corresponding to the number offingers so that the fins alternate with the fingers and y-occupyin hespace between them prevent any lateral motion of the fingers. The lowerband 8, has a beveled mouth or recess which not only acts as a centeringbevel to guide the plunger upon the bottle top, but also. receives andholds the cap or capping disk and places it on the bottle-top. The lowerend of the fingers b, is always held pressed inwardly by the flange '0,which is fixed upon the plunger cylinder in such position as to restagainst the top rib of the fingers.

The complete operation of sealing or capping a bottle by the abovedescribed machine, is as follows: The bottle being placed upon the stand5, immediately under the plunger, which is in its raised position, a capor cappin disk is then either laid upon the bottle-top, or set in theplunger mouth as preferred. The treadle is then forced downward drawingthe plunger down upon the bottle. The first operation of the plunger isto seize the center of the cap or disk, and force it into the mouth ofthe bottle, and simultaneously, to press a portion of the cappingmaterial upon the upper edge of the bottle, by the elastic gasket at. Asthe plunger continues to descend, the cylinder a, creeps down along thetube f, thus steadily increasing the pressure of the plunger tube uponthe inside and top of the bottle mouth, while simultaneously the lowerends of the fingers creep by the end of the plunger tube, and begin toforce the outer portion of the capping material down and around theoutside of the bottle neck.

This action continues as the plunger continues to descend until thefingers have molded the capping material in under the bottle neck ringand the plunger reaches the end of the downward stroke. Pressure on thetreadle is now removed, and the plunger head and plunger are drawnupward by the contractileforce of the spring F. As the plunger rises,the fingers being their return or upward trip under the action of theresilient force of the spring a; still retain their ironing pressure,against the bottle cap until they leave the top of the bottle, andbeginto creepup the side of the plunger tube. During all this time, theplunger tube has been held down against the cap by the resilient forceof the spring 2', but as the plunger cylinder has now reached the pointwhere it picks up the disk g, the plunger tube begins to be lifted awayfrom the bottle, and the capping is complete. At the end of the upstrokeof the plunger the capped bottle is removed and a fresh bottle uncappedput in place ready for the next downward stroke.

T claim:

A bottle capping and sealing machine provided with a plunger comprisinga hol low plungencylinder adapted to be set in the plunger-head of saidmachine, and her ing an upturned flange-ring on its exterior surface; aspring actuated plunger-tube located in said hollow cylinder andterminating in a die adapted to force the central portion of the sealingmaterial into the mouth of a bottle neck placed thereunder, and hold thesame in close contact with the top and inner wall of said neck; a circleof independent tucking fingers radially arranged around said cylinderand resting upon said lip-turned flange-ring; annular bands attached tosaid cylinder and inclosing said circle of radial fingers and providedwith internally projecting fins adapted to enter the spaces between saidfingers; and a spring-controlled annular plate loosely surrounding saidcylinder and resting upon the tops of said radial fingers; the springwhich actuates said annular plate be ng of heavier. caliber than thespring which actuates the plunger-tube, whereby in the o eration of saidplunger, said plunger-tn e is caused to continue its downward pressureuntil the pressure on the cylinder is released.

JOSIAH BRADLEY.

Witnesses LILLIAN E. Lmnoms'r, W. P. Panama, Jr.

